New England Patirots safety Jabrill Peppers is currently facing multiple charges in a domestic violence case, and team owner Robert Kraft says his career may be over if he really did what he was accused of.
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The 83-year-old made an appearance on "The Breakfast Club," where he noted the seriousness of the offense, but also pointed out that Peppers has maintained his stance that the claims made against him are false.
In view of this, the charges against Peppers include: assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, strangulation, and cocaine possession, which all stem from an alleged incident that took place last week on October 5 between a woman and the NFL player.
According to the victim, Peppers hit her, choked her multiple times and pushed her down the stairs. In particular, police specified that he shoved the woman to the ground, put her head into a wall, while using his hands to strangle her neck (per ESPN).
All in all, the Patriots owner says he's not ready to jump to any conclusions, as they will await to see how the investigation plays out.
"[The NFL will] do their independent checking. We're doing ours," Kraft said before noting that, "if what was reported is true, he's gone."
Jabrill Peppers leaves Quincy District Court after appearing in front of a judge. While he stayed silent, his attorney said they have evidence that contradicts the victim’s story. @boston25 pic.twitter.com/unnnCqIAyi
— Ryan Breslin (@ryanjbreslin) October 7, 2024
Peppers was put on the Commissioner's Exempt list following his arrest, as the investigation will reveal what type of consequence the eight-year NFL player will ultimately be facing.
"The easiest thing would have been to cut him right away," the owner said. "But we're trying to measure nine times and do right by him. If the facts are as been reported publicly, then he's not with us."
Kraft continued, "There is a possibility there's a different explanation, and the facts are different. so I'm personally gonna wait knowing how these things can be unfair."
While Peppers is being accused of physical assault, he says it's a fabricated story. His statement to police was that she "became enraged with him when he refused to have unprotected sex with her," according to multiple reports.
Authorities said in the police report, that Peppers side of the story is: "[the woman] kept acting erratic and refused to leave. According to Jabrill, [the woman] fell by herself on the stairs because she was intoxicated. He denied pushing her down the stairs, and he said that she was making those allegations to destroy his career."
Peppers' attorney previously told reporters, "we have evidence that completely contradicts the alleged victim's story, and I expect my client to be fully exonerated."
Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo talked to Peppers after everything went down.
"He called me that morning. I knew what was going on," the Patriots coach said on Monday. "We've informed the NFL what was going on and we're still gathering information... I don't think anyone knows the facts or anything like that. It's a process."
"We don't know enough to say he shouldn't be in the building," Mayo said while speaking on Peppers, who is currently signed to a three-year/$24 million contract.
